LORDSTOWN - A CSX train delayed the village fire department from getting to a fire Monday morning at 2328 Salt Springs, according to fire Chief Travis Eastham.
"We managed to get one of our trucks across the tracks before a train crossed the tracks near the home," Eastham said. "We had to send our other trucks four to five miles out of the way to get to the fire."
Lordstown firefighters, working alongside Warren Township and North Jackson firefighters, contained the fire at the single-family home to the front of the structure. However, there was smoke damage throughout the house, the chief said.
The department was called out just after 5 a.m. and were at the scene until about 8:40 a.m.
No one was at the home at the time of the fire. The address is listed as the Robert Keller residence.
A delivery person alerted firefighters to the blaze, the chief said.
"This was not the first time our response has been hampered by a train," Eastham said. "It primarily has been firefighters coming to the station or response to an ambulance call."
Eastham says he spoke to CSX officials several times in the past about finding ways to solve the situation.
An investigation is being conducted by the state fire marshal's office. However, Eastman says the cause of the blaze appears to have been accidental.
A damage estimate has not been announced. No injuries were reported.